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I have posted this on a couple of other forums, but there are some of you who only frequent this forum, so I thought you might enjoy my latest sub build. I have a Great Room that has 14 foot tall ceilings and is basically 1K square foot. It has a front wall that is 20' wide so I have built a 110" screen for it.

I designed the box in two cabinets that can be broken down in 20 minutes or so in case I end up with a basement one of these years and have a dedicated a/v room.
I went with a ported design as this is a subwoofer for the main range of 20hz to 80hz which is used for 70% music and 30 % TV and movies as I'm not a fan of movvies due to my aversion to any kind of visual violence. seeing people get their brains blown out is not entertainment to me.

There is a saying," Contentment is destroyed by comparison" Once you hear a full speaker system that will play the bottom octaves with authority, you are not satisfies with mere 1 driver subs that fail to impart a pressure wave that permeates your body and makes you become one with the music. being a former drummer and trumpeter for many years playing in 18 piece Big Bands at 100db plus levels, you become used to "feeling the music". Most audiophiles don't have any desire at all for this kind of system, which I found out at last years CES show. 200K dollar systems that fail to reproduce percussion with realism, room after room of ultra expensive systems that went to 40hz at very moderate levels as well. One mfg'r had a pair of 30K speakers that had a great bottom end until I asked to turn it up to the level of having the musicians in the room, to which the woofers quickly bottomed out on the first kick drum hit, and he said that he had sold 50 pairs of them so far. Playing in Big Bands let you experience what musical/physical energy can be had, just like playing in the middle of an orchestra and having a large orchestral drum being walloped right behind you. A complete different experience from being out in the 14th row of the Concert Hall. Hope this helps you understand the goal I am after in my setup, which is the perfect blend of SQ and SPL

I used a 8 foot long and 25" deep walnut butcher block top and used those dimensions as the basis for the rest of the cabinet, going with a ported design tuned to 20hz for each 4 foot long cabinet
I went with the Watco Danish Oil to end up with a low sheen to prevent reflections under the screen. I used matching walnut corner pieces and then thought the ends would look nice with black mirrored plexiglas. I wanted to have a one piece front grille and used some c-shaped aluminum channel for the grille frame.

I will post in the next ne below more pics in case there are picture limitations per post.

Earth: The Insane Asylum of the Universe, nowhere else could things be this screwed up.

I wanted a one piece front grille and made it out of aluminum C-channel I had.

Here are the Obsidian drivers installed

Here is it in its spot under the screen.

the front grille is supported by two brackets at the bottom and there are Neo magnets performing the rest of the duty to hold it in place. the Clements speakers shown are normally one of two pairs I have been restoring and now have new foam wrap around foam on them, they are going to be moved and stacked in my bedroom system as I'm working on buying back my Magneplanar Tympani IVa speakers which my wife always thought were the best looking and sounding speakers Ive owned through the years. They have large amounts of surface area with their 6 panels and should compliment the sub very well. I didn't have a big enough amp before but now have a Cinepro 6 channel amp that can bi amp them with about 550 watts per section, this should get them really launching a huge soundstage to keep up with the sub. There is large amounts of tight, deep bass and so far the woofers have not moved over 3/4" with 120db peaks. Having 4 woofers share the load keeps everything very clean. The Obsidian drivers are the unsung hero of the sub world and are a real value in todays market.

Let me know what you think about my DIY effort.

Earth: The Insane Asylum of the Universe, nowhere else could things be this screwed up.

These are my Magneplanar Tympani IVa speakers I sold 2 years ago and am working on getting back. They should look alot better beside the big sub now. They would fill up the whole wall now on each sides of the sub and give me a "wall of sound". Now that I have my big Cinepro 3kSE amp, I can feed the two bass panels per side, each about 550 watts, and the mid/tweeter panels another 550 watts each. Maggies love lots of power, the more you have, the better they sound, there's lots of surface area to excite.

Earth: The Insane Asylum of the Universe, nowhere else could things be this screwed up.

These are my Magneplanar Tympani IVa speakers I sold 2 years ago and am working on getting back. They should look alot better beside the big sub now. They would fill up the whole wall now on each sides of the sub and give me a "wall of sound". Now that I have my big Cinepro 3kSE amp, I can feed the two bass panels per side, each about 550 watts, and the mid/tweeter panels another 550 watts each. Maggies love lots of power, the more you have, the better they sound, there's lots of surface area to excite.

You can't be married. If you are, you are a lucky man. Those speakers are huge in front of that big screen in your living room!

Which Obsidian model are these bad boys? I will admit that I am not too familiar with that brand. Are they similar to Stereo Integrity? What is the price on these Obsidian subs? How would this particular sub compare to the Dayton HO15, HO18, HF15, or the SI15 or AI. 18"?

Obsidian is affiliated with Stereo Integrity, but I can't recall the exact relationship. Data-bass.com has the 18" Obsidian driver measurements, so you can compare them directly. Long story short, SI has better inductance control, deeper extension, and more output. Obsidian is more stout--made to take a beating in car audio applications, but can also do well in an HT.

I'm no guru on ported subs, but just looking at the frequency responses, the Obsidian can be a great choice in a ported design simply because it doesn't dig as low.

Obsidian is affiliated with Stereo Integrity, but I can't recall the exact relationship. Data-bass.com has the 18" Obsidian driver measurements, so you can compare them directly. Long story short, SI has better inductance control, deeper extension, and more output. Obsidian is more stout--made to take a beating in car audio applications, but can also do well in an HT.

I'm no guru on ported subs, but just looking at the frequency responses, the Obsidian can be a great choice in a ported design simply because it doesn't dig as low.

Marty, hey dude, you get my PM? Obsidian and Stereo Integrity are both the same guy, Nick aka electrodynamic who posted a few above The SI was born from the same tech the Obsidian was built on, aka the high roll surround, looks, and quality parts. The inductance amongst other things were improved on in the SI version of the driver by having a much more compliant (softer) surround, and a difference voice coil to also aid in making it a more robust and competitive HT style driver.

Obsidian is affiliated with Stereo Integrity, but I can't recall the exact relationship. Data-bass.com has the 18" Obsidian driver measurements, so you can compare them directly. Long story short, SI has better inductance control, deeper extension, and more output. Obsidian is more stout--made to take a beating in car audio applications, but can also do well in an HT.

I'm no guru on ported subs, but just looking at the frequency responses, the Obsidian can be a great choice in a ported design simply because it doesn't dig as low.

Quote:

Originally Posted by beastaudio

Marty, hey dude, you get my PM? Obsidian and Stereo Integrity are both the same guy, Nick aka electrodynamic who posted a few above The SI was born from the same tech the Obsidian was built on, aka the high roll surround, looks, and quality parts. The inductance amongst other things were improved on in the SI version of the driver by having a much more compliant (softer) surround, and a difference voice coil to also aid in making it a more robust and competitive HT style driver.

Correct on both accounts for the most part. Only part different is SI was formed before OA. The OA drivers can take a lot more abuse than the SI drivers but that was honestly what was needed for their market. You guys in HT want sound quality and deep bass extension first and foremost instead of needing to shove 2,000 watts to a driver rated for 600 watts like the car audio guys. The OA's still do well in HT though. I installed two OA 18's in my brother-in-law's HT room and they are pretty destructive. They shake his projector during loud passages in his 20x20' room.

I wanted a one piece front grille and made it out of aluminum C-channel I had.

Here are the Obsidian drivers installed

Here is it in its spot under the screen.

the front grille is supported by two brackets at the bottom and there are Neo magnets performing the rest of the duty to hold it in place. the Clements speakers shown are normally one of two pairs I have been restoring and now have new foam wrap around foam on them, they are going to be moved and stacked in my bedroom system as I'm working on buying back my Magneplanar Tympani IVa speakers which my wife always thought were the best looking and sounding speakers Ive owned through the years. They have large amounts of surface area with their 6 panels and should compliment the sub very well. I didn't have a big enough amp before but now have a Cinepro 6 channel amp that can bi amp them with about 550 watts per section, this should get them really launching a huge soundstage to keep up with the sub. There is large amounts of tight, deep bass and so far the woofers have not moved over 3/4" with 120db peaks. Having 4 woofers share the load keeps everything very clean. The Obsidian drivers are the unsung hero of the sub world and are a real value in todays market.

Let me know what you think about my DIY effort.

Beautiful project, sir. Did you attach magnets to both grille and box?

OP- did you make that butcher block top yourself? If not, where did you purchase it? My significant other wants to have butcher block counter tops in our kitchen that we are remodeling, but I can't seem to find any pre-made butcher block counter tops, and the custom butcher block counter tops run over $100 per square foot! I have a buddy that does wood working and cabinet stuff for a living, and he offered to make us a butcher block counter too with the wood slats layed on their back for a wider surface area than if the slats were laid on their sides, and his price was very reasonable, although still high, and I am just curios to know how you got that butcher block too?

OP- did you make that butcher block top yourself? If not, where did you purchase it? My significant other wants to have butcher block counter tops in our kitchen that we are remodeling, but I can't seem to find any pre-made butcher block counter tops, and the custom butcher block counter tops run over $100 per square foot! I have a buddy that does wood working and cabinet stuff for a living, and he offered to make us a butcher block counter too with the wood slats layed on their back for a wider surface area than if the slats were laid on their sides, and his price was very reasonable, although still high, and I am just curios to know how you got that butcher block too?

I bought it at Lumber Liquidators and they buy it from the Williamsburg Butcher Block Co.

Every time I listen to the system, I tell myself that I need to invite more people over to hear how great the Obsidian drivers are, I still haven't been able to get these drivers to move more than a 1/2" or so with crap-loads of output. I gave a short demo to two a friend who was helping me out with another house project last week, and his older brother was out at the street putting some tools away. When his older brother came in, I said, " hey, you missed the demo", he said no, he felt it out in the street.

Earth: The Insane Asylum of the Universe, nowhere else could things be this screwed up.